


The Princess and the Pirate

by sourgummyworms



Series: Kix of the Future [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, to fix the severe lack of Kix content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:08:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24595807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sourgummyworms/pseuds/sourgummyworms
Summary: “The whole way over here I was trying to figure out how to change my recruitment spiel. You see, I always compare the Resistance to the Rebel Alliance. But, you weren’t around for that, were you? And you didn’t grow up after the Empire fell, either,”Leia enlists Kix, a clone out of his depth and time, into the Resistance.
Relationships: CT-6116 | Kix & Leia Organa, CT-6116 | Kix & R2-D2, Leia Organa & R2-D2
Series: Kix of the Future [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2006500
Comments: 17
Kudos: 158





	The Princess and the Pirate

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I’ve watched very few episodes of Rebels and absolutely none of Resistance and won’t pretend to know any of the important stuff that happened in those shows, so some stuff from this might not be totally accurate. Sorry not sorry we’re all here for Kix anyways and maybe Leia too.  
> You don’t necessarily need to know/have read the Crimson Corsair book to understand this, at least read Kix and Sidon Ithano’s Wookieepedia for a bit of context.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

The first she heard of him was a rumor. Chewbacca had mentioned it, while he was still off with Han doing Force knows what, but still on speaking terms with her. Apparently, some pirate gang was tracking down lost Separatist treasures with the help of a clone trooper.

“Chewie, I’ve _met_ clones before. They were old men when I was a kid- they’re all dust and bones now.”

 _“Raaoooaa!’_ he warbled over the comm.

Leia shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell you. Maybe he’s the kid of one who just takes after his father a lot.”

Despite her disbelief, she put out a notice for her Resistance cells in the outer rim to be on the lookout. The kid might know something helpful; first-hand clone wars accounts were harder to come by as time passed, and it was the technology and plans of the GAR that the Rebellion and Resistance had been built on.

The next time he came up it was a relief. The Resistance had been able to find some salvaged AT-TEs, but the codes for their computer systems were locked behind long-forgotten passcodes. Their slicers were doing what they could under the ever-growing pressure of the looming First Order.

“General,” an ensign called to Leia. “There’s been a confirmed sighting of person of interest number 16. Last known location: headed towards Geonosis.”

Leia read the report, looked over the holos the scouts had captured. He sure looked like a clone- straight out of a history holo. The scouts had crossed paths with the clone and his pirate crew in a backwater cantina. From the conversations they had overheard, they learned three things:

He had been in a cryo-freezer for fifty years.

He had woken up four years ago after being found by the pirates.

The clone’s name was Kix.

The pictures also showed the man wearing medic symbols on the shoulder bells of his armor. If he hadn’t just stolen an unfortunate doctor’s armor, he could be a much-needed addition to their medical staff. That along with the fact he would know the codes to unlock those pesky AT-TEs put him high on Leia’s list of priorities.

A familiar series of beeps caught Leia’s attention. Artoo had sidled up next to her, practically shaking with excitement. Threepio as usual was only a few steps behind.

“What is it? You recognize him, Artoo?”

Threepio translated the rapid binary. “He says he would recognize that tattoo anywhere, Mistress Leia,” he turned to address the astromech. “Yes, I do agree that’s rather rude.”

Looking back at the frozen image, Leia could see the edges of a tattoo on Kix’s temple mostly covered by his hair. “What do you know about him?”

“Artoo can confirm he is indeed a medic, and he worked in the Torrent company of the 501st.”

“501st? Vader’s Fist 501st?” Leia’s voice darkened. The intel said he hadn’t been around for the Empire, but she couldn’t help the bad memories the number brought to her mind.

“501st of the GAR, he says. Under Master -Ani? Who is that?”

Artoo let out a deflated chirp before clarifying.

“Ah, under General Anakin Skywalker. Your-”

“Thank you, Threepio.” Leia stopped the protocol droid. She turned to the hangar doors of the base and walked with purpose toward the shuttles. “Artoo, come with me. We’re getting Kix.”

~

Geonosis was worse than he remembered it. It was even more lifeless and dusty, now. The only color visible was the rust-colored dirt on the ground and whipping around in the air.

He had sworn to never come back to this planet after the terror of the first battle of the clone wars. He had broken that when he had no choice but to return for the second battle of Geonosis and promised himself a second time to stay far away.

He was breaking that promise now. Fifty-six years later, but it only felt like six. Maybe even less than that. The last four years were blurred into one strangely long nightmare where none of his brothers were there to wake him up.

There wasn’t even much of a good reason for breaking the promise to himself. It was for some measly profit split five ways. It felt like he was earning nothing- Reveth had reminded him the galactic economy had changed over the decades, but the money wasn’t the problem. There was no value in anything if he couldn’t share it with his brothers.

His only reason for being here, on Geonosis, was to find old things the Seppies had left behind. His job was the only thing he could do, really, now that there was nothing for him left. Unfortunately, it required a lot of memories to be forced into his head wherever he and the pirates went.

And no, he didn’t consider himself a pirate. All he was doing was working _with_ Ithano and his crew. At this point, he barely considered himself a person. He was just an old relic, like the ones the pirates were searching for.

Quiggold, the first mate, waved him over. He had found the entrance to the vault the crew was here for embedded in a rock formation. The Gabdorin pointed to an access panel. “Can you unlock this?”

“I keep telling you guys, I don’t have the passcodes for any of these Seppie hideouts! I was on the other side. If Sidon had found a _GAR_ memory core…”

“Then what use are you?” Reveth half-joked. Squeaky huffed beside her.

The clone rolled his eyes. “Being the only one with common sense around here, I guess. Look, there are holes all over these mountains for the Geonisians to crawl through. This was probably just the visitor’s entrance. There,” he pointed to an indent in the rock face, a few meters up. “There’ll be way less security that way in.”

Quiggold nodded in approval. “Good. Now all we have to do is get _up_ there.”

No sooner had he said it did Sidon Ithano, the Crimson Corsair himself, jump up to the opening. He pulled himself up the rock with impressive speed and stuck his head out once he reached the secret entrance. He gave a thumbs-up to his onlookers.

“Anyone else want to give him some backup?” Quiggold asked. The first mate didn’t volunteer himself, knowing his own athletic abilities. Reveth was suddenly very interested in her fingernails. Squeaky gave the medic some side-eye. He sighed.

“Me, I guess. You guys keep a lookout for any undead hiveminds.”

“What?!”

He waved a hand at them, already halfway up the rock face. “You’ll be fine, just aim for the head.”

Quiggold grumbled. “Just get the treasure and get out. Stick by the captain’s side, okay, Kix?”

How many times had he heard those words in a different context, a lifetime ago? “Yes, sir,” he mumbled to himself.

~

Leia left for Geonosis with Artoo and a few bodyguards at her other officer’s insistence. The little droid was restless; a stark difference from the empty shell he’d been a few short weeks ago. She knew he was old, might have forgotten he’d had a role in the clone wars, but it was still nice to see him so lively. The connection to his past was exciting to Artoo. Leia, on the other hand, had mixed feelings. The last time she’d met a clone was, hells, Endor. She probably looked as old now as that clone had thirty years ago. She knew they weren’t all mindless followers of the long-gone Empire. Her father, her _real_ father, had told her of the noble clones protecting him in the senate every day but that was never the case in her experience with white armored soldiers.

The way B- Kylo Ren was re-using the designs of the Empire for his petty mockery of it only made things worse.

This Kix fellow wasn’t wearing white armor, luckily. She could only hope he was one of the few good clones who would have fought for freedom if given the chance. The fact he was traveling with pirates wasn’t helping his case much, but sometimes criminal scum made good rebel scum.

~

The tunnel muffled the sound of the desert winds from outside. A dozen paces from the entrance was a door. Rusted, with a simpler access panel that could be easily rewired. Kix had been right. In front of him, Sidon fiddled with the panel. The door screeched open halfway. A solid punch got it open three-quarters of the way.

Good enough for them to fit in. The captain looked back at Kix with a nod before sliding under and disappearing into the dark tunnel. Kix pulled a flashlight out of a pouch and followed him in.

It was musty inside and even with a rag covering his mouth to protect from the winds outside the distinctly _insect_ smell nauseated him. The deeper they went, the more the tunnel declined. Soon, it went straight down. Sidon was still in front, and he found a loose rock on the floor. He dropped it. _One, two, three, four, five…_

Six seconds later a splash of water sounded. It would be a long drop, but there was a safe landing at the end. Without further preamble Sidon dropped down. A few seconds later there was a much louder splash. Kix closed his eyes.

When one of his brothers was afraid of needles he would always count down from ten, but stick the needle in before he hit zero. It always worked to calm their nerves.

He counted down from ten, in a whisper. “Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five-” and dropped down.

The water was cold and shallow enough that his feet just touched the bottom as he sunk. The armor made it harder to swim out but training on a planet like Kamino gave you good swimming skills. Sidon was already on solid ground. He could see him in the dim light from some old fluorescents. Looking around, Kix saw half of the vault was flooded.

Sidon waved him to follow. He did that a lot; silently leading Kix and the crew. It was hard to put a finger on the man. The fact only his first mate could totally understand him made the captain feel separate from the rest. He still seemed to genuinely care for the pirates, though. Quiggold had told the medic about Sidon’s sacrifice on the ship they’d found him on. In smaller ways, too, the guy was selfless. When they ate, he gave half of his meal to Squeaky. On other missions, he put himself in the line of fire first. He also never seemed to mind when his crew stayed back or complained. And he always got the job done.

He reminded Kix of the hardened commandos or ARC troopers with his hand signals. Maybe not like Fives or Jesse, but definitely Fordo. He even had red armor to match.

He waved the thought away. Reminders wouldn’t bring them back. The comparison would just make him think about them more. Kix followed Sidon.

Neither man talked. Sidon certainly never minded, and neither did Kix. They’d been following data trails to Separatist vaults for years and nothing surprised them anymore. Unlocking a door triggered a rusty squadron of B1s to start shooting. A surviving creature had made a den in one room. The threats were half-dead and barely took any time out of their exploration. Kix was still dripping wet when they got to the central vault. It was already open.

The cavernous storage room was empty save the cobwebs. Kix and Sidon scuffled around the room a few times, catching credits and smaller jewelry the first thieves had missed, but that was it.

It had been going like this more often. Their first finds were enormous; riches beyond anything Kix had ever seen. After four years the trail was getting dry. And their first treasure troves were depleted more every day.

Kix wouldn’t be useful to the pirates for much longer. He liked to think they would keep him on; hell, they’d nearly brought some random kid on Takodana into the crew a few weeks ago. But Kix didn’t exactly want to keep being a pirate, either. After this, he was aimless.

When they got back outside the sandstorm was still going. At the main door, only Reveth was still there. She looked uncomfortable.

“We have company.”

Sidon took the lead fast-walking back to the ship. Kix started to follow, but his foot nudged against something in the sand. Looking down, his stomach dropped when he saw a phase I helmet. He let the wind cover it with more sand and tried to ignore the fact his body felt like ice. “Kix, come on!’” the Twi’lek shouted over the wind.

He couldn’t wait to leave this stupid planet. He was going to leave, and never come back.

Landed next to the _Meson Martinet_ was another ship, a smaller shuttle. On its side was a symbol Kix had only recently become familiar with. The Resistance was here. What did they want with some pirates?

~

“Stay in here for now, Artoo,” Leia ordered. The little droid whined but stayed put for the most part. He pushed himself up on his tracks to peek out the window.

There was a sandstorm on the surface and visibility was low. One of the crew handed Leia some goggles and a scarf and walked into the desert with her. The pirate ship was still where it had been when they had tracked the rusty thing, but now a few sentients were out in front of it. Three more appeared out of the storm before Leia was even close. One in bright red clothes and a matching mask put himself between Leia and the rest of the pirates. He stood planted on the ground like a statue, waiting for her to speak first.

She tilted her head to look behind the leader. Only one of the crew was a human, and he matched the pictures her scouts had sent. His face was obscured by a rag to protect from the sandstorm but it had to be him.

~

Kix caught up to the others as three figures were descending from the Resistance ship. An older woman was flanked by what looked like bodyguards. He didn’t recognize any of them, but he didn’t recognize a lot of people. Reveth’s eyes widened.

“Is that Leia Organa?”

Kix cocked his head. “Organa as in Bail Organa?”

Reveth shrugged. “Dunno. _She’s_ a big deal in the Resistance, though. Helped Ryloth out a lot back during Empire times, too.”

“Then what does she want with us?”

“Quiet, you two!” Quiggold hissed. He was standing at Sidon’s side, ready to interpret. The Organa woman was speaking to them now, not loud enough for the rest of the crew to hear. Their body language was relaxed, Kix noted. Hopefully that meant things were going well and in their favor. At one point Sidon turned back to look at Kix and the woman followed his gaze

Sidon crossed his arms and shook his head. Not good. Then the woman gestured to her ship and the captain and first mate followed her in. Reveth sighed loudly beside Kix. “This is going to take a while, negotiations always do.” Squeaky agreed with a grunt and leaned against the _Meson Martinet_. 

“But what are they negotiating?”

~

The Crimson Corsair was driving a hard bargain. His grumpy translator was no help, either. They claimed the clone was _their_ property, having found him fair and square.

“He is not property,” Leia fumed. “He’s a person, and he should be allowed to come with us if he wants.”

“What makes you so sure he even wants to?” the Gabdorin argued. 

Leia shrugged. Discreetly under the table, she tapped her communicator. “Oh, he will.”

The captain sighed. His body language was tense but his shoulders still drooped down like he was tired. The first mate listened intently when he mumbled something to him and a smile crossed his face for a moment.

“We don’t think of him as property, you know. The captain wants you to know that. But the Resistance is dangerous. Not many people come back home from that fight. If we let you take Kix, he’s never going to come back.

“In the captain's words, ‘He’s already fought in one useless war,’”

~

The sandstorm had died down outside and the sunset was becoming visible. Kix had sat down next to Squeaky outside the ship waiting for Sidon and Quiggold to come back. He still didn’t know what they were negotiating but that look Organa had given him gave him a bad feeling. The sooner they could get out of here, the better.

It wasn’t that he disliked the Resistance. The First Order was dangerous and evil; done things a hundred times worse than anything the Separatists had thrown at the Republic. The Resistance was doing their best to fight it back, but he couldn’t be a part of it. As much as it sounded selfish, he had no stake in this time. He wouldn’t be fighting beside his Jedi friends and clone brothers, in fact he would have to shoot at that achingly similar plastoid armor. He’d done enough of that on Umbara.

Kix was pulled out of his thoughts when an incessant beeping started coming from the other ship. An astromech was whizzing down the ramp toward him. It was blue and white, reminding him of General Skywalker’s old droid that stuck to his heel like a pet. He didn’t see many R2 series droids around anymore.

His droidspeak was a little rusty, but as the astromech got closer it was _definitely_ shouting his name. “Artoo?” he asked.

Artoo whistled in confirmation. Squeaky stared at Kix as he leaned forward to pat his domed head. He was wobbling back and forth in excitement and continued to babble to the surprised clone. He couldn’t help but laugh. It was nice to see a familiar face, even if he barely knew the droid. “What are you doing here?”

_Came to pick you up!_

Kix blinked. “They’re here for me?”

_Resistance needs your help._

“I-” he pulled his hand back. “No, no they don’t.”

~

“Okay,” Leia started. “We’ll recruit him for this job only, he won’t be in combat, and we pay you the agreed amount for borrowing a crewmember. Kix negotiates his own payment. Do we have a deal?”

The pirates looked at each other in silent conversation. “As long as he comes back in one piece. We didn’t rescue the guy just so you could blow ‘im up,” the first mate warned.

“Of course.”

The two parties shook hands, standing up to exit the ship. On the way out, the captain’s gaze caught on where Artoo had been when they’d come in. “Now we just need to see if _he_ agrees to go.”

They found him leaning against the pirate’s ship with Artoo. The other crew members were gone, probably back inside. Kix was watching the sunset with a thoughtful look on his face, and idle hand on Artoo’s dome. When he noticed Leia and the others he stood up.

“So? Am I going with her then?”

She stood back while the pirates talked to Kix for a semblance of privacy. Hopefully whatever they were telling him wouldn’t affect his decision to join her. The masked captain put a hand to Kix’s shoulder before he climbed the steps into his ship. When he and the first mate were inside, Leia stepped forward and got her first real look at the clone.

He was still so young, probably in his early thirties, but with eyes that looked much older. His eyebrows were pinched together under a mop of hair like he was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. She spoke first.

~

She looked like a senator to Kix. If his assumption was correct, she was Bail Organa’s daughter, although she didn’t much look like him. Since the sandstorm had died down she had no scarf covering her face. If he was comparing her to a senator, Amidala might have been a better comparison. She was shorter than Kix but still looked like she could command a room with effortless skill. While he looked her over, she did the same until she began to speak in a worn voice.

“The whole way over here I was trying to figure out how to change my recruitment spiel. You see, I always compare the Resistance to the Rebel Alliance. But, you weren’t around for that, were you? And you didn’t grow up after the Empire fell, either,” said Organa. The leader of the Resistance, according to Sidon and Quiggold. They hadn’t explained much before they left to let her talk to Kix, but they did remind him that his decision to leave was up to him.

Her eyes scanned his frame. It caught on the medic symbols of his armor. “You really a medic?”

“Yes,” he answered quickly. Hesitantly, he added, “Though I haven’t practiced in a few years. And my medical know-how isn’t exactly up to date.” As much as he was confident in his skills it would be reckless to hide information that might risk a patient’s life. He did not want Organa shoving him in front of a dying patient he didn’t know how to save.

She simply nodded. Moved onto the next question. “Your captain seemed to think you wouldn’t want to come. Is he right?”

Kix took more time to answer. He mulled over his thoughts, glancing back down at Artoo. The droid was watching him intently. “Maybe. What do you need a clone for that someone else couldn’t do?.”

“Not much. We need to get some AT-TEs in working order, and you’re one of the few people left in the galaxy with firsthand knowledge of that technology. If that’s all you’re willing to do, we’d be grateful- and pay whatever you want. But, you could also do a lot more good-”

“I’ll do the job,” Kix interrupted. “That’s it.”

It would be a one-time deal. A quick detour and then he’d be back to pirating and watching his sanity fade.

~

Leia was relieved he agreed to go. She didn’t let it show, though. “Great. We leave in five. Pack your things and meet me in our ship,” he started to follow when she turned to leave. “You don’t have anything to bring?”

“No,” the clone said. “Nothing worth keeping.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Not even a spare change of clothes?”

“I- er,”

“We’ll pay you for the job, but the Resistance budget isn’t gonna pay for a razor for your fancy beard, kid.”

“On second thought, I’ll be right back, ma’am,” Kix muttered. Leia let herself laugh as he ducked into the ship. These loner-types always tried to look suave, but they sometimes lacked common sense. When he came back out with a packed bag, albeit a small one, she walked him to her ship. There was an empty room prepared for him, small but substantial for a few hours flight. Artoo was still at his heels.

Leia left him with one last note. “Oh, and it’s not ma’am. It’s General.”

~

The room had a tiny sink with a mirror above it. Starkly clear compared to the scratched and dusty one in the refresher of the _Meson Martinet_.

Kix’s hair was still grown out, covering his tattoo Artoo so hated. Initially, he’d done it to cover up his self-surgery scar after he uncovered what Fives had warned everyone about. Nowadays, he dealt with more than enough bounty hunter droids to keep the tat covered. He could still feel the scar, though, if he brushed his finger over the right spot. It was a habit of his in the last months of the clone wars that resurfaced when his ears caught the world Jedi in passing conversation.

The beard was a newer addition. The style was more goatee than a full beard; something he’d seen on another pirate in his travels that caught his eye. The important thing was that he couldn’t recall a single clone who’d had one like it. Together with the longer hair, Kix barely recognized the reflection. The bags under his eyes screamed Rex on the morning shift but he waved the thought away.

Artoo was gone now, having other things to attend to on the ship. He’d been stuck to Kix’s side for a long time. At first he’d caught Kix up on his adventures since the clone wars, then asked a few questions of his own. There was a lot the astromech was holding back, but with all the encryption coding General Skywalker had put in the little guy Kix knew he wouldn’t spill without permission.

He looked over at the door. He’d have to go talk to Organa- _General_ Organa- eventually.

The General was in the common room sitting at a table in the corner. She was engrossed in the datapad in one hand, the other clutched around a mug of caf. Further down the hallway, Kix could see Artoo in the cockpit, interfacing with the ship computer. His boots were heavy on the floor and General Organa noticed him coming. She patted the seat next to her.

He sat down in the offered seat but didn’t say anything. He really should have come up with something before going to talk to her.

“We never discussed a price for your service,” the general started. “Did you want credits, or something else?”

Kix shrugged. “Haven’t decided yet.”

They fell into silence again. General Organa sipped her caf. “I knew your father,” he tried. She looked up quickly at that, an unreadable expression on her face. “I only met him once, we didn’t work with the Senate all that often.”

Her shoulders relaxed. “I didn’t know that. Were you protecting him?”

“Another senator, actually. They were friends so he was around Amidala often.”

“Amidala?” Organa’s voice went quiet. “Padmé Amidala?”

“Yes, sir,” Kix wondered how she knew Skywalker’s senator. It made sense, if she was Bail’s daughter.

She smiled. “I never knew a lot about my mother. Tell me what you know,” she prompted. Kix blanched.

“No, that- that can’t be true. The senator was-” was it okay to tell her? Nobody could get into trouble anymore, but he and the rest of the 501st had sworn to stay silent about their general’s relationship… even if he didn’t know they knew.

“Oh, I should probably just tell you,” Organa sighed. She put down her datapad properly and turned to fully face Kix. “Bail Organa was my adoptive father. My real parents were Padmé Amidala and…”

“And General Skywalker!” Kix smiled. “I should've known, you look just like them.”

She looked away, pained. “You don’t know about Vader, do you?”

“Him? A bit, but that was after, y’know,” Kix said. History holos only said so much, especially when the First Order was trying to cover up half of the atrocities the Sith committed. “What does he have to do with them?”

“Anakin Skywalker _is_ Darth Vader.”

~

She didn’t want to be the person to have to tell him, but there was no point in hiding the truth. The clone took a long moment to process the new information, then let out a shaky laugh. “What? He’s- he was-”

“I’m sorry. I know that’s not what you were expecting, but it’s true. He was, as my brother would say, ‘seduced to the Dark Side’. He let my mother die,” she said, her voice becoming more bitter than she intended.

Kix didn’t say much more. His eyes searched aimlessly around the cabin. “How long until we land?” he asked gruffly. Leia gave him the answer of a few hours and he returned to his room. She left him alone until then.

Although Leia didn’t know how well the medic knew Vader, she knew the news would be a shock. Everything probably was. From the clones she had met, she’d seen how the war affected them even decades after its end. For Kix it had ended only a few years ago, abruptly. She wanted to know more, but now was not the time. Leia would let him process and hope they could become friends.

~

Kix didn’t want to think. He could be angry at his general, devastated that he had participated in the tragedy Kix had tried his damndest to prevent, but he was just tired. But the ship was too quiet, and it was cold without his brothers surrounding him. Luckily, he still had his bag with him and found the medical supplies he had scrounged up over the years. There was one dose of a sedative left, probably expired.

He sat heavily on the bed. Pulled his boots off and shook the sand out of them. Finally, he shoved the needle into his arm and laid back. He fell into dreamless sleep.

The sedative had mostly worn off by the time Artoo woke him. The unruly little droid had sliced the lock on the door to get inside, and followed Kix out to the base. It wasn’t a planet Kix had ever been to, but it reminded him of Saleucami. The base was busy and messy in the way ragtag military operations often were. Supplies were stored where they were most convenient, exposed cables and wires covered the grounds, and everyone everywhere was on the job. There was more diversity than Kix was used to, which wasn’t a bad thing. The people here came from across the galaxy to fight for their own reasons. Not bred and paid for.

He admired it, but it wasn’t him. He would do the job he was hired for and return to his only semblance of friends in the galaxy.

General Organa passed him where he was standing on the ramp. “You coming?”

The AT-TEs were dumped on the furthest landing platform half-covered in camouflage tarps. They were rusty and carbon-scored. Some had missing parts but for the most part they looked in working order. The Resistance must have been desperate if they were willing to use the ancient machinery.

Leia introduced him to a mechanic, Rose, and left them to work. She didn’t recognize Kix as a clone, not uncommon but still a relief to him. While she worked on fixing up one of the walker’s legs he tried his hand at the computer systems. His flash-training of basic AT-TE piloting was fuzzy but he managed to turn the thing on. A real driver would have been able to do more, know what all the flashing warning signs on the screens meant. The engine coughed and sputtered and Rose cheered. An apparent success, Kix returned a hesitant smile of his own. 

The rest of the walkers turned on easily enough save one that was too damaged. Rose told him they could just use the parts to finish repairing the others and thanked him for the help. Kix wasn’t sure what to do next, but luckily Artoo found him and led him to the main headquarters. Hopefully that meant he was getting paid and could get out of here.

Someone bumped Kix’s shoulder. They ran past him, carrying a stretcher with another soldier. Five more followed. Artoo turned around where Kix had stopped and urged him to keep following. The injured were being carried across to another building, though. “Give me a minute,” he mumbled.

~

What was taking so long? Leia had sent Artoo to get the freelancing clone nearly thirty minutes ago and he still hadn’t come back. She had noticed their lateness in a pause in the strategy meeting she was currently in. After an infiltration squadron had returned from their unsuccessful mission there was a lot to plan.

The other generals could go without her for now. She excused herself, on a mission to find the missing clone war relics. It might not have been necessary, but she felt responsible for Kix.

Leia found Artoo easily enough pacing (as much as a droid without feet could pace) around the medcenter entrance. It was crowded inside with injured troops and harried doctors. One stood out, in dusty blue armor instead of the standard scrubs. Kix.

He was focused, hovered over the body of a young fighter covered in blood. His tongue stuck out the smallest bit from the corner of his mouth. The other medics were grateful for the help and let him order them around. Once he looked satisfied with his work on the patient he flitted from cot to cot checking over the other wounded. Leia slipped inside to watch him.

A medical droid doing an emergency surgery at the far end of the room was shoved out of the way when Kix noticed its work. Leia could hear his shouts that it was too damn slow over the fast-beeping heart monitor. She stood off to the side with some other surprised onlookers. It was tense, but his speedy work ended with another patient in stable condition. Kix stood back reluctantly, wiping sweat off his brow.

When he noticed Leia watching him he grimaced. Seemingly satisfied with what he’d done, he left the crowded room.

“That was very impressive,” Leia complimented him outside. He was sitting on a bench next to Artoo, who had brought the medic a water bottle.

“Eh, I was rusty.”

“You didn’t have to do that- you could’ve just walked away. But you didn’t.”

Kix’s face morphed through many expressions before settling on exhaustion. “I’m tired. Is there a town nearby with an Inn? Or someplace to set up a camp?”

“Don’t be silly,” Leia chided. “We have plenty of room here, even with all the people in there you saved. Follow me.”

Begrudgingly, she left him alone in some of the guest quarters. She encouraged Artoo to stay, though. The little droid had no complaints and followed Kix into his room.

Why was she so worried about this clone’s wellbeing? He’d been part of the legion directly under Vader. Logically, she knew he’d been cryo-frozen before the Empire’s takeover. He hadn’t participated in the evils that took away her childhood. The question itched her, though.

Would he have done it? Was he still a risk?

A part of her feared her interest in him was born out of his connection to Vader. _General Anakin Skywalker_ as he was to the clone. Luke would know, if he were here. A lot of things would be easier if Luke was by Leia’s side.

But it wouldn’t help to dwell on the past, or regrets, or mistakes. General Leia Organa steeled herself and got back to work.

~

“Seriously, Artoo. I know you’re the only thing I recognize here but can I have a little privacy?”

The droid let out a low buzz. _Negative_. Kix groaned and gave up on trying to make him leave. It was still early in the night-cycle of the planet but his internal clock was confused and jet-lagged. He started to take off his armor, unceremoniously tossing it on the floor.

 _Why did you help?_ Artoo queried.

“Dunno. General asked nicely enough and I get paid. Besides, who else knows how to work clone wars tech nowadays?”

 _No,_ his headpiece swiveled to face Kix directly. It was surprisingly condescending. _In the medcenter._

“I’m a medic,” he answered simply. He pulled out his sleepwear from the pack he was now grateful to have. Good thing the general had shoved some sense into him on Geonosis. It reminded him of the Senator, maybe Skywalker women were just like that.

His sleep shirt was just the top half of his old underarmor blacks. He stared at the faded Republic cog on the chest before pulling it on. Artoo was still watching him.

“You’re being really creepy, you know,” he noted. It seemed like the astromech wanted him to explain more. “Fine. I helped because… because it’s what I know how to do. Whatever the real intent of the clone wars was, I was created to heal. It’s not the same now, but I hated being a kriffing pirate, I don’t get machinery, but I could save those troops. So I did.”

Artoo hummed, satisfied with the new answer. He let Kix crawl into the bed and stare at the ceiling. The lights were still on though, so he threw a balled-up sock at the switch.

He stared at the droid. “You gonna stay here? Don’t have any ships to fix or other clones to bother?” It was silent for a beat. “Oh, right. I’m the only one left. I’d forgotten,” he said bitterly. Kix rolled over to face the wall.

Quietly, Artoo rolled closer to the bed. A clicking sound came from his chassis until a bluish light beamed onto the edge of the bed. Kix glanced over his shoulder.

He was playing a holorecording. Two small figures were moving on the edge of the bed, glitching over the creases in the blankets. Even with their small size, it was unmistakably Jesse and Fives.

“Artoo…” Kix pleaded.

 _“Okay, just stay there, Artoo,”_ Jesse was saying. Fives’ body was only half-visible in the recording but Kix could see him wiping grease off onto his kama. He remembered this, it was maybe the early days of year two. Jesse and Fives had become fast friends over their self-appointed project of refurbishing a retro speeder. They’d keep it in the Coruscant barracks garage and work on it during shore leaves. When Fives was off on ARC missions Jesse would invite Hardcase as well.

Kix wondered if Jesse ever got the chance to finish it after the Outer Rim Sieges. If he ever got to Coruscant maybe he would track it down.

Watching the recording, it looked like Artoo had been recording for them to send a video to Skywalker for advice. They were having trouble with the engine shooting sparks everywhere. One caught Jesse in the face and he shouted. Kix remembered that himself, which meant…

 _“What are you idiots doing?!”_ a recording of Kix in miniature stomped into the frame.

 _“Relax, bro. We almost got it,”_ Jesse waved him away and got back to work on the speeder.

 _“Jess, stop it,”_ The recording of Kix said. _“Hey, there’s a cut on your face._ ”

 _“It’s nothing! Lemme finish!”_ Jesse waved Kix away. Fives laughed.

_“Just let him fix it. He’s not gonna stop.”_

_“Ugh,”_ Jesse relented. He sat back and Kix watched himself get to work patching up the tiny singe on Jesse’s cheek. His tongue was sticking out between his lips in concentration- he never even realized he did that. Jesse kept talking to Fives about adjusting this and that piece. Nothing was working though, and the recording ended with Fives shrugging at the camera.

_“Let us know if you’ve got any suggestions, General. Thanks.”_

Kix realized he was crying. Those moments were gone, never coming back. He might have missed out on the fall of the Republic but at least the few clones who had managed to escape had each other. If he’d been there, had warned them in time-

Again, he stopped the train of thought. Artoo was probably just trying to cheer him up. “What did you show me that for, huh?”

_You help people. Help my Princess._

“Wha- Who?”

Artoo made a frustrated beep. _General Organa._

Kix sat up. “Is she sick? She seemed fine.”

 _Sad_ , Artoo explained. _You can help._

“Artoo, I’m a medic, not a mind healer,” Kix sighed. 

_Tell her about my Pilot._

“I don’t know if she’d like that. Didn’t seem to think too highly of him,” he shrugged. “But I guess you want me to change that, huh?”

_Affirmative._

Kix wiped some straggling tears out of his eyes. “Fine. I’ll say something before I leave tomorrow. Now let me sleep, you clanker.”

~

After only around three hours of sleep Leia was back in her office planning for the next assault. Her mug of caf was already empty; she’d have to get Threepio to bring her another. Where had that fussy droid gone?

Looking around the room her eye caught on a half-opened drawer. Sighing, she went to close it. It didn’t bother her as much as it was an excuse to get up from her chair and stretch. Leia’s hand paused on the handle. She’d nearly forgotten what was inside. It was a flimsi picture frame, luckily turned upside down to spare her from having to see the family photo inside. The last time it had sat proudly on her desk was in her old offices of the New Republic Senate.

Even in the early days of the Resistance she’d kept it close, to look at Han’s face when her traitorous heart missed him. Then the monster that had eaten up her Ben took him away too, and she’d hidden it away. Not well enough, it seemed.

“Mistress Leia, Kix is here to say goodbye before he departs,” Threepio said, poking his head through the door. Leia jumped and shoved the drawer shut.

“Let him in,” she grumbled.

The medic looked well-rested. A little too skinny she noted, now that he was out of that dirty armor. She’d have to make sure he got a good breakfast if she could get him to stay. With his improved mood it might be easier than she thought.

“Good morning, General,” Kix started. “Artoo said you’d be in here bright and early.”

Leia raised her caf mug in greeting. “Well, the First Order never sleeps, so neither do I.”

Kix laughed. He looked about a decade younger with a smile on his face. “Heh, the General used to say something like that. ‘Come on boys, the droids aren’t sleeping so neither will we.’” He looked disappointed when Leia frowned and looked away.

“I would appreciate it if you didn’t compare me to Vader,” she said icily.

He only became confused. “I wasn’t. I know he might have become Darth Vader, but I knew Anakin Skywalker as a good man.”

“A man who chose to do horrible things to the galaxy, do whatever the emperor told him to,” Leia replied bluntly. “Hate to break it to you, but the man you knew turned to the Dark Side. You just weren’t there to see it,” 

Kix was silent. He slowly sat down across from Leia at her desk. One of his hands drifted over his right temple before quickly returning to his lap. Only then did he start speaking again. “They didn’t teach us a lot about the force on Kamino, and I’ve never fully understood it. After our battalion faced a Sith for the first time though, a few of us had questions about the Dark Side. General Kenobi once explained it to me,” she raised an eyebrow at the name drop and began to pay more attention.

“He said it was all about power and control, but not necessarily having it yourself. It’s a lot like a drug, and I know plenty about those. At first, they can seem great. But they’re addicting. And the longer you’re dependent on it the more you’ll fall apart. In a lot of ways, too it-” Kix’s voice wobbled. “It reminds me of the chips they had implanted in us. Did you ever know about those?”

Leia nodded silently. Her heart sank with the pain this soldier was putting himself through just to defend his long-dead war criminal of a General. She wanted to hear him out, though.

“Yeah, well, they’re the reason I’m here in the first place. Turns out we were just meant to be more robotic pawns in some grand scheme. When I woke up and read about what happened after I was frozen, I learned how Palpatine was behind it all. Both sides of the war. He controlled the clones and could make them do whatever he wanted.

“I think it was the same with Anakin. I knew him for three long years, I saw what he was capable of. We didn’t talk often, but I was good friends with his Captain. Rex told me a lot about the general when he was worried. He was a great Jedi, but I know he struggled with the Dark even before the Republic started to fall. It’s addicting and powerful and takes away your critical thinking. But even with all the problems he had to juggle during the clone wars he never gave in. When he did, he was under Sidious’ control. Just like my brothers.”

Leia processed what Kix had said, trying to find his goal in saying what he had. “What do you want me to do? Remember my biological father as he was, not who he became?”

“It’s not my place to make you think anything- nobody’s, really. That’s just what I think, General,” he said curtly.

“I don’t know if I could separate the two in my head. Vader _s_ _carred_ me,” she shuddered.

Kix gave her a caring smile. “Wounds take time to heal.”

~

When they left General Organa’s office the base was busy with sentients. Kix had his gear back on and a packed back over his shoulder, heavier now that it had been filled with food at the general’s insistence.

“We never discussed payment,” she was saying. “How much do we owe you?”

Kix shrugged. He looked distractedly over the base just in case he would never see it again. “Honestly just enough to get me back to the outer rim is enough…”

He trailed off when he caught more injured troops being carried into the medical bay. The general followed his line of sight. “You know, we could really use you around here long term. You can save lives again. And Artoo here would sure miss you.”

Sure enough, the blue astromech was at Kix’s side and somehow making tooka-eyes at him to stay. “I truly don’t understand him. I swear I was his least favorite clone,” Kix marveled.

 _You covered up the mean tattoo_ , Artoo beeped. _Besides, you have no competition._

Kix burst out laughing. The general asked what he’d said that was so funny. “Oh, nothing. Just some gallows humor.” He looked back at the medbay. It was looking a little understaffed. “Actually, why don’t you just give me the starting salary for your medics?”

General Organa caught on quickly. “Sounds good to me. I’ll throw in the uniform, too.

“Welcome to the Resistance, Kix.”

**Author's Note:**

> If there are any similarities to other people’s headcanons for sequel Kix, it’s because I’ve absorbed all of the content there is and loved all of it. I wrote this because there needs to be more of it.
> 
> Thanks for reading! Let me know what you thought. I'm going to keep working on my other series TARFU now but I will definitely be coming back to Kix in the future!


End file.
